January 2012

Santander will double overdraft charges in a bitter blow to its five million current account users.

Ed Miliband has called for an end to Britain's "rip-off consumer culture", insisting the Government should intervene on exorbitant charges for savings, holidays, banking and parking.

Scottish Power has become the last of the big six energy companies to announce reductions in its tariffs.

Consumers using unauthorised overdrafts find it virtually impossible to calculate how much their bank or building society would charge them or compare fees between providers, research from consumer group Which? has found.

A raft of high-street promotions in the run-up to Christmas triggered the largest drop in inflation in nearly three years.

Eon today became the latest energy supplier to cut prices when it announced a 6% fall in electricity bills, benefiting 3.7 million customers.

Mortgage payments for new borrowers have reached their most affordable levels for 14 years, but only for those lucky enough to qualify for a home loan, research from lender Halifax has found.

Households are still paying substantially more for their gas and electricity than they were last summer, despite four of the big six energy firms announcing price cuts this week.

Chancellor George Osborne insists that he will go ahead with controversial plans to axe child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers.